(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)
Published: Tue 23 Jul 2024, 6:00 AM
Last updated: Tue 23 Jul 2024, 7:57 AM
Two companies have reportedly vanished from their Deira location this month, taking with them goods worth millions of dirhams, according to local businesses.
Future Star Electromechanical Works and Alpha Star Building Contracting took tonnes of building materials, 200 cartons of chicken, 250 laptops, hundreds of cellphones, and 11,731 metres of cables before shutting their shops.
The estimated loss from this 'disappearing act' has surpassed Dh12 million. The fraud was first uncovered when post-dated cheques issued by Future Star and Alpha Star began to bounce this month. When traders rushed to the companies' offices and warehouses, they found the doors locked, the entire staff and owners missing, and their phones switched off.
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Deepti Singh (name changed), an Indian businesswoman, said she lost over Dh3.5 million worth of building materials. "I moved to the UAE a little over a year ago, hoping to build a better future for me and my family. Now, everything feels like it's fallen apart."
Two weeks ago, she sent her six-year-old daughter back to her home country.“I cannot afford to stay here any longer. This has been a devastating blow for us.”
Deepti said she conducted her due diligence before entering into business with the companies.“Since the time they reached out via email in early 2024, I visited their offices and warehouses several times, met their staff, and reviewed their audit reports and bank statements. Everything seemed in place. Future Star's managers told me the orders were for a project in Oman, while Alpha Star claimed it was for a client in Abu Dhabi.”
Between May 25 and July 2, she delivered 750 metric tonnes of reinforcement bars, galvanised iron (GI) pipes, sheets, and coils to warehouses in Sharjah Industrial Area.“The payment term was 30 days. Ideally, my first cheque should have been due on June 25, but Future Star, to whom I supplied first, requested to extend it by a few more days due to the Eid holidays. So, my first cheque from them was dated July 5, and from Alpha Star, July 4."
At 8.20pm on July 2, Deepti delivered the last orders to Alpha Star. However, when she returned at 9.30am the following morning to deliver some leftover material, she found the warehouse empty. She rushed to Future Star's warehouse, only to find a similar sight.
“In under 13 hours, thousands of metric tonnes of building materials had vanished without a trace," she said. "My goods alone would have required more than 10 trucks to transport."
Outside the shuttered offices of Future Star and Alpha Star, Deepti met other business owners, including one who said he lost 450 metric tonnes of building materials worth over Dh2 million. Around 40 of these business owners have now formed a WhatsApp group.
Many business owners who have since filed police complaints are wary of revealing their identities for fear of being hounded by creditors.“If word spreads in the market that we have lost money, our suppliers will panic and start demanding immediate payments,” one business owner explained.
Among them is R.K., who supplied 85 Lenovo laptops worth Dh265,384, and a travel firm owner who processed international flight tickets and booked local tourism experiences. A pipe supplier in Al Rashidya, who estimates his losses at Dh57,000, said nobody suspected anything.“Future Star, for instance, had been in business since 2007. Unknown to us, its license had changed hands recently.”
JW, who supplied 200 cartons of chicken, 8,000kg of rice, 70 cartons of beef cubes, and cooking oil worth a total of Dh300,000 to Future Star, said: "They approached us with initial orders for rice and pulses, claiming they needed it for their staff who lived in a workers' accommodation. The first orders went through smoothly, but then they increased their requests to include chicken and beef.”
The scam comes on the heels of a similar racket reported by Khaleej Times last month, where five fraudulent companies - Digital Genius Technologies, Daemo International, Noor Al Sidra Trading, Fair Words Goods Trading, Wahat Al Rayan Trading, and Max Clove Technologies - vanished. Among those affected was Indian businessman Mirza Illiaz Baig, who saw all four of his business ventures hit within day .
Last year, a Khaleej Times report uncovered how Max Star, Seven Emirates Spices, and Ultimate General Trading pulled a similar scam to steal tonnes of avocados, onions, cardamoms, and beef worth millions.
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